Being charged for paper statments

FreeBear

Bob2000 said:

FreeBear said:

matelodave said: Just a basic 2nd class stamp costs 85p so an extra quid for all the aggro seems pretty reasonable

If you are sending an appreciable amount of post via someone like Whistl, prices drop considerably. Looking at the current bulk mail prices from Royal Mail, the cost is as little as ~44p per letter.

Well they should be charging  me 44p then that's reasonable:)

You have to remember that several other companies will have their finger in the pie. The company that does the printing & envelope stuffing will want a cut to cover the cost of paper, ink, and profit. The likes of Whistl will want another slice for presorting the letters before handing it over to Royal Mail - Doesn't take long for the 44p to mushroom to £1.36. On top of that, the company sending you an invoice will want to be compensated for their time & effort.

Scot_39

molerat said:

Scot_39 said:

FreeBear said:

matelodave said: Just a basic 2nd class stamp costs 85p so an extra quid for all the aggro seems pretty reasonable

If you are sending an appreciable amount of post via someone like Whistl, prices drop considerably. Looking at the current bulk mail prices from Royal Mail, the cost is as little as ~44p per letter.

Then theirs the cost of the paper, the envelope and the machinery to produce them - servers, printers, auto-folding and envelope insertion / stuffing equipment.

They won't produce the statements themselves, just send a data file over to a company that does it all for them, so no costs other than a per item charge.

Far easier though to store PDF statements and way more environmentally friendly.

A charge is a charge - and will be passed on regardless - my point is it's not just the price of the stamp.

Scot_39

Bob2000 said:

Scot_39 said:

BT have been charging an even higher £3 for their quarterly paper / postal statements for a long time now.  Most customers just get theirs by logging in on line to avoid.

My supllier EOnNext hasn't sent me paper bills for years - just monthly statements by email.  And again available in on line account.

It may even reduce the price premium over direct debit etc many on standard credit now pay - £112 in current Ofgem cap - slightly. 

And if like iirc EDF who are moving even standard credit billing to monthly the ccost of paper post may have been quadrupling may even have seen the premium increase  - but that likely offset by reduced credit risk and savings on cash flow costs. 

Have Ovo given you a free paperless option ?

Yes, they have said do it  online and do it all by email.
I'm happy enough to pay at my local convenience store  via pay point. Reason why they are informing  me no doubt.

You may have been on standard credit paper billing - because you are unhappy to give a supplier control of your DD as these days that means holding onto large credit balances over summer.

Currently Ofgem cap levels for prepay are c£48 cheaper than DD and DD c£112 cheaper than standard credit (pay on receipt of - typically quarterly - bills). 

You are possibly paying that sort of rate and standing charge premium.

You considered prepay instead - either smart - or key - again both potentially at the local store - it could be cheaper ?

Not sure Ovo are one of those suppliers who support it - but there is also an alternative DD method at some suppliers - MVDD - monthly variable direct debit - some have different naming - where you simply pay for the actual months bill - no credit cycle at the end of every month.

400ixl

Bob2000 said:

FreeBear said:

matelodave said: Just a basic 2nd class stamp costs 85p so an extra quid for all the aggro seems pretty reasonable

If you are sending an appreciable amount of post via someone like Whistl, prices drop considerably. Looking at the current bulk mail prices from Royal Mail, the cost is as little as ~44p per letter.

Well they should be charging  me 44p then that's reasonable:)

But the idea isn't for it to be reasonable, it is to deter people from destroying the planet.

Reducing physical letters will be part of their corporate social responsibility and sustainability targets.

bob2302

Bob2000 said:

Postie came yesterday  and had l nice letter of Ovo telling me from now on l will be charged £1.50-1.80 for having my bill via letters.

Have any other utilities  started  to do the same?

It used to be the case that there were discounts for electronic billing, now it's a charge for paper, it's the same thing, and it been around for many years.

I just keep my council tax on paper because sometimes a utility bill is needed as evidence of address. 

Bob2000

Scot_39 said:

Bob2000 said:

Scot_39 said:

BT have been charging an even higher £3 for their quarterly paper / postal statements for a long time now.  Most customers just get theirs by logging in on line to avoid.

My supllier EOnNext hasn't sent me paper bills for years - just monthly statements by email.  And again available in on line account.

It may even reduce the price premium over direct debit etc many on standard credit now pay - £112 in current Ofgem cap - slightly. 

And if like iirc EDF who are moving even standard credit billing to monthly the ccost of paper post may have been quadrupling may even have seen the premium increase  - but that likely offset by reduced credit risk and savings on cash flow costs. 

Have Ovo given you a free paperless option ?

Yes, they have said do it  online and do it all by email.
I'm happy enough to pay at my local convenience store  via pay point. Reason why they are informing  me no doubt.

You may have been on standard credit paper billing - because you are unhappy to give a supplier control of your DD as these days that means holding onto large credit balances over summer.

Currently Ofgem cap levels for prepay are c£48 cheaper than DD and DD c£112 cheaper than standard credit (pay on receipt of - typically quarterly - bills). 

You are possibly paying that sort of rate and standing charge premium.

You considered prepay instead - either smart - or key - again both potentially at the local store - it could be cheaper ?

Not sure Ovo are one of those suppliers who support it - but there is also an alternative DD method at some suppliers - MVDD - monthly variable direct debit - some have different naming - where you simply pay for the actual months bill - no credit cycle at the end of every month.

That's interesting thank you for the information. 

UKX69

Keep_pedalling said:

Lot of organisations are charging producing paper statements is expensive and from a consumers point of view I can’t see why you need them if you have access to email then they are rather pointless.

What annoys me is a lot of companies dress up their email billing as “environmentally friendly”, but what they really mean is “we are saving cash for more profit”. So if the paper bill is at no cost, I ask for it. Sad I know.

MattMattMattUK

DasTechniker said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Lot of organisations are charging producing paper statements is expensive and from a consumers point of view I can’t see why you need them if you have access to email then they are rather pointless.

What annoys me is a lot of companies dress up their email billing as “environmentally friendly”, but what they really mean is “we are saving cash for more profit”. So if the paper bill is at no cost, I ask for it. Sad I know.

Something can be both and having multiple benefits makes it more likely to happen. 

As a business owner I do multiple things that are better for the environment, something that is free or saves me money is a slam dunk and will happen as soon as it can be integrated into the business model (reducing printing is an easy example, conducting some meetings via Teams when they are short, recycling all business waste), some things have a minor cost (carbon offsetting all courier usage) so is relatively easy to justify, other things cost more and have to be factored in to a business plan before they can be implemented because if they were all done at once there would not be enough profit and no more business. 

Something having a financial benefit to the business does not negate environmental benefit.